Introduced by Representatives Kilmartin of Newport City,
Andrews of Rutland City, Barnard of Richmond, Donovan of Burlington, Errecart
of Shelburne, French of Randolph, Grad of Moretown, Head of S. Burlington,
Hosford of Waitsfield, Jerman of Essex, Koch of Barre Town, LaVoie of Swanton,
Marcotte of Coventry, McDonald of Berlin, Morrissey of Bennington, Oxholm of
Vergennes, Pellett of Chester, Perry of Richford, Pugh of S. Burlington, Shaw
of Derby, Valliere of Barre City, Wheeler of Derby and Zuckerman of Burlington

Referred to Committee on

Date:

Subject: Crimes; humane and proper treatment of animals;
service animals

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to: (1) prohibit
a person from interfering with any service animal in the course of the performance
of its duties or training as a service animal; (2) establish penalties for
cruelty to a service animal or for the killing of a service animal; and (3)
permit an owner or user of a service animal who has been harmed in violation of
this act to obtain restitution from or file a civil action against the person
who violated this act.

AN ACT RELATING TO INTERFERENCE WITH OR CRUELTY TO A SERVICE
ANIMAL

It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of
Vermont:

Sec. 1. 13 V.S.A. § 355 is added to read:

§ 355. INTERFERENCE WITH OR CRUELTY TO A SERVICE ANIMAL

(a) As used in this section,
“service animal” includes:

(1) An animal that a person who
has an impairment or disability that substantially limits the performance of
major life activities relies upon for assistance in performing major life
activities or as an alert signal regarding the onset of a person’s medical
condition and which has been trained to
provide these services to a human being.

(2) An animal used by law
enforcement, fire departments, or other federal, state, or local officials in
an official capacity for law enforcement purposes, investigation of fires,
search and rescue, seeking missing persons, or security services.

(3)
An animal used by an essential public service, a nuclear power plant, or public
or private utility for the purpose of securing the site against sabotage or
terrorism.

(4) An animal being trained for
the purposes set forth in subdivisions (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection.

(b) No person shall interfere
with or permit an animal that he or she owns or is in immediate control of to
interfere with the use or training of a service animal by obstructing,
intimidating, teasing, or otherwise jeopardizing the safety of the service
animal or its user if the person knows or reasonably should know that the
animal is a service animal. A person who violates this subsection shall be:

(1) for a first offense,
imprisoned not more than one year or fined not more than $1,000.00, or both.

(2) for a second or subsequent
offense, imprisoned not more than two years or fined not more than $2,000.00,
or both.

(c) No person shall
intentionally torment, torture, beat, strike, or administer a desensitizing
drug, chemical, or substance to a service animal. The duty status of a service
animal at the time of the offense is not a factor in the application of this
subsection. A person who violates this subsection shall be:

(1) for a first offense,
imprisoned not more than two years or fined not more than $2,000.00, or both.

(2) for a second or subsequent
offense, imprisoned not more than three years or fined not more than $3,000.00,
or both.

(d) No person shall recklessly
kill or permit an animal that he or she owns or is in immediate control of to
kill a service animal. The duty status of a service animal at the time of the
offense is not a factor in application of this subsection. A person who
violates this subsection shall be imprisoned not more than two years or fined
not more than $3,000.00, or both. For a second or subsequent offense, a person
shall be imprisoned not more than five years or fined not more than $5,000.00,
or both.

(e) No person shall
intentionally kill or permit an animal that he or she owns or is in immediate
control of to kill a service animal. The duty status of a service animal at
the time of the offense is not a factor in application of this subsection. A
person who violates this subsection shall be imprisoned not more than five
years or fined not more than $10,000.00, or both. For a second or subsequent
offense, a person shall be imprisoned not more than ten years or fined not more
than $20,000.00, or both.

(f) The penalty for a violation
of this section which was committed during the commission of a felony shall be
the same as the penalty for the felony but shall not exceed more than 10 years
in prison.

(g)
It shall be an affirmative defense to any criminal prosecution under this
section that the service animal was being used during the commission of a
felony, or to any criminal prosecution for a service animal as defined in subdivision
(a)(1) of this section that the service animal posed a significant and imminent
danger to another human being or domestic animal when the actions being
prosecuted are alleged to have occurred and that the actions taken by the
accused were to protect against the danger posed by the service animal. Proof
of the affirmative defense shall be by clear and convincing evidence.

(h) As provided in section 7043
of this title, restitution shall be considered by the court in any sentencing
under this section if the victim has suffered any material loss. Measure of
material loss shall include veterinary medical expenses, costs of temporary
replacement assistance services whether provided by a person or an animal, replacement
value of an equally trained service animal without any differentiation for the
age or experience of the animal, loss of income and wages, and any other costs
and expenses incurred by the person as a result of the injury to the service
animal.

(i) A person who uses a service
animal or who is the owner of a service animal may bring, in addition to any
penalties provided herein, an action for compensatory and punitive damages
against any person who violates this section with regard to the person’s
service animal. It shall be an
affirmative defense to any civil action under this subsection that the service
animal was being used during the commission of a felony, or to any civil action
for a service animal as defined in subdivision (a)(1) of this section, that the
service animal posed a significant and imminent danger to a human being or another
domestic animal when the actions being charged are alleged to occur and that
the actions taken by the accused were to protect against the danger posed by
the service animal. Proof of the affirmative defense shall be by a preponderance
of the evidence. The court shall award reasonable attorney fees and
expert witness fees to the prevailing plaintiff in an action under this
subsection. The court may award reasonable attorney fees and expert witness
fees uncured by a defendant who prevails in the action if the court determines
that the plaintiff had no objectively reasonable basis for asserting a claim or
no objectively reasonable basis for appealing an adverse decision of a trial
court.